Boulder opening gifted school Program to be the only one in city

Interest in a new private school for gifted students has been so strong, organizers are considering opening in Boulder with more students than originally planned.

In the fall, Mackintosh is adding a south Boulder campus on a 23-acre site at 6717 South Boulder Road. It will be the only school of its kind in the city after the private Rocky Mountain School for the Gifted closed following the 2008-09 school year.

Hunter Lawrence, assistant head of school, said the plan was to open the Boulder campus with 60 students in three classrooms. But there`s been so much interest, the school could open with as many as 72 students, organizers said.

"Families are looking for a school that`s not just about speed, but rather about depth," Lawrence said.

Mackintosh is a K-8 private school for gifted children that opened in 1977 and is International Baccalaureate-accredited, with tuition this school year of $14,155 annually for elementary and $15,035 annually for middle school. The school, which also offers a pre-kindergarten program, generally enrolls children who test "in the top five percent of national norms."

The school provides a ratio of eight students per teacher in the elementary grades and 10-to-one in middle school.

Lawrence said the school offers flexible grouping based on ability.

He said the teachers understand gifted children and know that they share similar characteristics: "They have empathy and concern for others.

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They really want their work to be relevant, to lead to some kind of action they can contribute to the world. They can be perfectionists. They are self motivated."

Five Boulder-area families already drive their children to attend Mackintosh Academy in Littleton.

Boulder`s Kate Bachtel said her son, in first grade at a public school last year, dreaded going to class. When he switched to Mackintosh, she said, "we had a kid who every day was excited to go to school."

He`s now in Mackintosh`s combined third-and-fourth-grade classroom, while his younger sister is in first grade there. Both are thriving and will make the move to the Boulder campus in the fall, she said.

"At Mackintosh, we were home," she said. "Finally, everybody got it. At the heart of it, you have people who understand them. There are so many kids here who this is life changing for them."

Boulder`s Tina Scala is considering Mackintosh for her 4-year-old son. She said she`s not sure yet if he`s gifted, but "his mechanism for digesting life experiences is just different."

She said she likes that the school takes a holistic approach to teaching.

"It`s not just about acceleration," she said. "They can accommodate children who learn differently and encourage it. They`re giving kids an opportunity to explore that a traditional school just doesn`t or can`t. It`s a nurturing environment for each kid."

For more information, go to mackintoshacademy.com or call Renu Rose at 303-794-6222 or e-mail her at Renu@mackintosh

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